You Say Codfish, I Say Catfish

There are sharks in the water and I am a bleeding man.

The adversary is [swimming] about, seeking whom he may devour—and he’s in my swimming hole!  Alas, I am again bed-ridden with a pressure sore that was very containable the past few days. Overnight, however, it tripled in size and deepened. The silver lining is that it is not on my bum as in years past, but on the side of my leg. Even still, a pressure sore is a pressure sore no matter where it may fester. Knowing this and what’s ahead, Sandy laid her hand on my leg in the wee hours just before dawnbreak and prayed for a miracle. Lord, You know…You see…

It’s not just about “staying off it for a few days”; it means bandaging, watching, waiting, wondering if and when it’s time to call in the professionals, preventing infection, cancelling appointments, answering the same questions over and over again…

Drip, drip, drip.

Sniff, sniff. (Sharks can smell blood from over a mile away, I understand)

I once heard about the codfish industry’s struggle to stay afloat. It seems that years ago North Atlantic codfish were shipped frozen but the quality of the fish was unacceptable once thawed, having lost its taste after the 3 or 4 days it took to come in from the sea. Someone thought that shipping the cod in seawater might improve the quality but it didn’t take long at all to realize once the fish arrived to port, the texture of the meat was mushy and tasteless. The reason? The cod was sedentary, almost comatose, during the shipping process.

What to do, what to do…

It was then discovered if you shipped live North Atlantic cod in seawater with its natural enemy—the catfish—in the tank, the quality of the fish would improve dramatically. Imagine being one of those sweet little cods, swimming and swimming for your life, constantly chased, not able to rest or sleep for days. Exercised. Pushed to its limits. Heart pumping. Blood racing.

Mmmmm-mmmm good. As Chuck Swindoll observes:

God knows that we are codfish in a catfish world. God allows all things, even catfish type things to help us grow strong and if He kept us from those things, we wouldn’t grow into the image of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said, ‘In this world you are going to have struggles. You are going to have troubles, tribulations, but be of good courage. I have overcome the world and I am going to take those troubles and I am going to transform you more and more in to my likeness.’

–Charles Swindoll

The illustration breaks down in that I am not running, racing, panting and scared for my life. I’m resting. I’m trusting. Oh, I can feel the whiskers on my heels but there’s One in the “tank” with me, staring down my predatory foe. His love for me is such that no creature above, around or beneath can take my life. The enemy cannot even ruin my day. I’m sure that really chaps him.

Inconvenience? Most certainly.

Concern? Is the proverbial pope catholic?

Quit? (and I know I’m mixing metaphors here) Hardly. The towel is still in the corner of the ring and there’s no way my Trainer is throwing it in.

I’ll be fine, as always. But sharks, you’d best beware. Your enemy is the Almighty who rules over you.